After Death
by chescaannie
Summary: The ones we love never truly leave us. They are always beside us, even if we can't see them. James and Lily have been separated from their only child, and now must watch from afar as he grows up without them, or any of the people they held dear.


When James first died, there was a moment of happiness. He knew he'd died for his son and his wife – two of the things he had loved most in his life. He knew he'd died to save not only them, but his friends and the countless witches and wizards who were fighting against Voldemort and his reign of terror. In fact, the first thing he did when he woke up in a strange white place was to smile. He saw his parents and they smiled at him too, and hugged him. His happiness, however, was short lived as his wife appeared soon after, in floods of tears.

Lily's hair was as vibrant as it had been in life and, despite James' best efforts, there was no denying that it was her. James hugged her and held her close as she stood.

"We did all we could for him." He whispered into her hair. Then they stood together. Waiting. Waiting for their one-year-old son to join them in this new world. They waited for a long time – hours it felt like. James' parents had left and only James and Lily waited where they had appeared.

"What if he's trapped?" Lily asked James, worried.

"He won't be trapped, Lily." James promised, although he himself wasn't convinced.

Both were trapped in thoughts of their baby son who was somewhere, all alone. They were so consumed in these thoughts that they didn't notice the world around them fade away and the nursery of their own house come into view. It wasn't until they heard Harry's distinctive cry that they turned and looked up.

"Harry!" Lily exclaimed and ran to him. She tried to pick him up, to comfort him, but couldn't. Her hands just seemed to go straight through him.

"We're dead, Lily. He can't see or hear us." James said, looking around the room at the devastation that surrounded them. Then he spotted the black mass that laid at Lily's feet.

"But how?" Lily asked, her gaze was still on their crying son. After following his eyes, she saw that they were locked onto her own lifeless form at the door.

"Lil', he's dead." James whispered. He was knelt by the black mass he had spotted earlier. "Voldemort's dead." James couldn't help the smile that took over his face. His son was safe and, although both he and Lily had died in the process, they had finally defeated Voldemort. The Wizarding world was safe at last.

Their jubilation was cut short, however, as they heard the front door crash open and both of their thoughts flew to one of Voldemort's notorious followers.

"James!" They heard the familiar voice of Hagrid who had presumably just found James' body at the front door. He must have heard Harry's cries, too, as he came pounding up the stairs and into the nursery. "Oh, Lily." He cried. There were fat tears swelling in his huge eyes but he shook them off and turned his attention to the crying infant. "Come here, Harry. What an awful time you've had. Come on, we've got to meet Dumbledore." He cradled the tiny babe in his huge arms. It looked strange for such a big man to be holding such a small child, but both James and Lily knew that Hagrid as actually one of the most caring people they had ever met. They followed him out of the room and back down the stairs, stepping over James' body at the bottom of them, and out the open front door.

"Hagrid!" It was Sirius. "Is…is it true?" James' best friend asked. Hagrid merely nodded as a huge tear rolled down his cheek. "Give me Harry." He said, holding out his arms. "I'm his Godfather, it should be me who looks after him." He begged. Hagrid seemed to consider this for a moment before shaking his head.

"Dumbledore told me to bring 'im straight to 'im." Sirius nodded.

"Take my bike. I'm going to stay here for a while." He said. Hagrid thanked him and climbed onto the motorbike and within moments flew into the air.

Once he had gone, Sirius took his first look at his best friends' house. It was ruined; destroyed. He took one step into the house before collapsing into tears by James' body. James struggled to do nothing – although he knew there was nothing he could do. He longed to tell him that everything would be OK, that he needed to help look after Harry, that he needed to speak to Dumbledore and that all of this would soon be sorted. But the dark room faded away and they were on a street.

It was a few hours later and quite a bit darker as none of the streetlights seemed to be on at the moment. It was an ordinary house on an ordinary street but the three people stood outside it were not normal muggles. Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, and Rubeus Hagrid were all huddled around Harry outside one house which Lily recognised instantly, despite only having seen it once before when she visited her sister a week before they went into hiding.

"It's Petunia. They're leaving our son with my sister." Lily whispered to James.

"At least he's with family." James whispered.

"Good luck." They heard Dumbledore say these words as he placed a letter on top of the sleeping child and rang the doorbell. Before anyone came, the three of them disappeared, Hagrid on his motorbike, and the other two disapparating to somewhere else. Lily and James stayed, however, and witnessed Petunia open the door to find her sleeping Nephew (who she had never actually met in person) on her doorstep. She screamed and then picked up the child to take him inside before anyone else would see him.

Lily and James both wanted to run into the house, to watch Petunia carefully and check that she would care for their son the way they would care for hers if the situation was reversed, but their time on Earth had ended and they could now only visit. They did this frequently over the following years and watched as their son grew up without them, not even knowing about the world that he had somehow saved; not knowing the true reason that his parents died. It was heart-breaking for his parents.

There was another situation that the pair managed to observe as well, which was almost as heart-breaking. Sirius found Peter in the middle of a muggle street.

"You betrayed them!" He shouted at the man who was almost half the size of him. Sirius' eyes were full of hate and anger; his wand shook in his hand as he raised it to Peter's throat.

"You don't understand, Sirius!" Peter begged. "He would have killed me!"

"And now two of your best friends are dead and their son is an orphan. Is that a fair trade? Your cowardly life in place of two true Gryffindors; brave and loyal." There were several muggles watching the events now, but Sirius had neither noticed nor did he seem to care.

"I'm sorry, Sirius." Peter whispered. With a single wave of his wand, Peter caused an explosion that blew up the street and instantly killed most of the muggles going about. Somehow, Sirius survived the blast but was left stood by only Peter's toe. Anyone who didn't know his secret would think he was dead but Sirius laughed as he spotted a rat running away, attempting to put as little weight on his back paw as was possible.

Sirius was taken away, still laughing, by ministry officials and James screamed at them as he was taken to Azkaban for his crimes that included killing Peter and thirteen muggles, and causing the deaths of both James and Lily – none of which he was guilty of – but there was nothing that either James or Lily could do from the realm that they were currently in. Instead, they had to watch this injustice.

They spent most of the time that they could over the following years with Harry, trying to comfort him when he was made to be the Dursley's servant and when he was locked in his tiny cupboard under the stairs. They were there when Harry performed accidental magic at the zoo, setting a snake on his cousin. This was also when they realised that their son was a parselmouth, though neither of them could figure of how as neither of them could do it and nor could their relatives. This was quickly over shadowed, however, by the Dursely's obsession with Harry _not_ going to Hogwarts. Lily felt responsible, she should have known that her sister's hatred of her magic would force her to stop her son from achieving his destiny. Both, therefore, sighed in relief when Hagrid appeared at the lighthouse on the island and picked up Harry on his eleventh birthday (even if he did leave their nephew with a curly pink tail).

They watched as their son, aged just eleven, took on Voldemort (even if he didn't know that was what he was doing at first) and they stood proudly as Harry looked into the mirror of Erised and saw his parents for the first time. James cried, he couldn't hide it. He was so proud of his son and now, after ten years of watching, he could finally see him. Their love saved him from Voldemort once again at the very end of the year and they all realised that he was still not truly gone. They all knew that he would probably return soon and they feared for their son's life.

But, at the start of his second year at school, they realised that he would be fine. The Durselys may not have been the family that the Potters would have been to Harry, but the Weasleys were doing all they could to welcome him into their folds and their family. Lily cried when Molly hugged him. She was happy that he finally had some kind of family; someone he could rely on, but Lily was devastated at the fact that that hadn't been them since he was one, and it never would be again. But she watched with pride as he saved his new little sister from the clutches of Voldemort's teenage self. James laughed, stating that gingers could never resist the Potter allure which allowed him an elbow in the ribs from Lily (which he could definitely feel).

By Harry's third year at Hogwarts, it was a lot harder to check on James' best friend as, after twelve years of imprisonment, he had escaped Azkaban, something both James and Lily were happy about, but was now on the run from the ministry and their dementors – something that James and Lily were not so keen on.

It was at this time that their other best friend was getting his life on track after twelve years of depression and had a new job starting in September as Harry's own professor of Defence against the Dark Arts. James was particularly happy about this for two reasons: Remus Lupin was amazing at defensive magic – at all magic in fact – and he would be about a thousand times better than the hopeless excuses for teachers he'd had the past few years. But more than that, he'd have someone close to family watching over him.

Then Harry finally met his godfather, and he said he'd kill him. James cried, this wasn't how he wanted his son to feel about these people. Lily cried, too. She'd loved Sirius but it meant a lot to her that Harry would want to hurt him because he thought it was his fault they were dead. But they were partly reunited, once Harry understood and freed him once and for all. James knew that Sirius would do all he could for Harry, whilst keeping out of sight to escape Azkaban.

The next year was hard for Harry, there was so much that he had to figure out for himself; so many challenges for him to face. Then they learned together that Voldemort was returning to his human form and was using Harry to do so. Harry saw his parents for only the second time that he could remember at this point – during a duel against the dark lord – but it was not them. It was a form of James and Lily, yes, but they had no control over what these forms said or did. They were glad that they had taken on enough of them, however, that they still did the right thing.

Less than a year after Harry had seen someone die, see the man who murdered his parents return, almost get killed himself, he lost one of his most important relationships: the one he was finally building with Sirius. Sirius saved Harry's life two years after they met and fell through the veil at the Department of Mysteries. James caught him at the other side and smiled down at his best friend. As Sirius opened his eyes to see James and Lily smiling down at him, he lost the age that twelve years in Azkaban and two years on the run had caused him. As he smiled, the worry lines faded around his mouth, eyes, and forehead until he looked no different than he had the last time that James had seen him: the day before he died.

"Thank you for helping Harry." James said as he hugged his friend for the first time in fourteen years.

"I couldn't help him when he was young – when he needed me most. I'm sorry James, Lily, but you have to know that I would _never-"_

"Sirius, you weren't our secret keeper." Lily interrupted. "There was no way it could have been you and there was no second that we thought it could have been. We know it was Peter. And we know that it was his fault you ended up in Azkaban and couldn't look after your Godson. But you did everything you could for him as soon as you could and we love you for that." She promised him.

Harry was devastated, of course, at the loss of one of his very few father-figures at a time when he needed one most; when the world was becoming more dangerous once more after Voldemort's official return. It became all the more worse as another figure went underground to help the cause with the werewolves, leaving Harry more alone than he had ever felt before. He still had Molly, the Weasleys and Hermione, though, and Lily couldn't be more grateful for them being there for her son. By the end of the year, it looked as though everything might be turning out alright for Harry, for his friends, for the entire wizarding world.

But when Dumbledore died and left a mission for Harry, everyone realised that it was not over; that it would never truly _be_ over. Harry's mother and two fathers watched with pride as he and his friends managed to hide from Voldemort and the death eaters whilst simultaneously discovering the way to defeat him and doing so.

He was there, in Malfoy Manor, when the third marauder died – Peter. He appeared, much like the others had, but took one look at the people he had betrayed before he disappeared again. As he left, he whispered "I'm sorry" but it was too late for his apologies…sixteen years too late. In many ways it was good for the three of them that he did leave, for there was no telling what any of them would do or say to him. After all, it was his fault that Harry had had to grow up alone and had no one to rely on as he faced all of the problems that he'd faced in the past sixteen years. James and Lily didn't care that he'd betrayed them, they cared that he'd forced their son to face so many difficulties alone.

The fourth and final marauder died months later during the Battle of Hogwarts an Remus and his young wife joined the sadly growing group. Once again, there were thanks to them for looking after Harry as much as they had but neither of them lost any age like Sirius had. They had other priorities, as well. They cared about Harry, of course, but they also cared for their own son – Teddy – who had now been left an orphan.

Severus died as well, just hours later. He appeared too. Lily hugged him, but she was still angry with him.

"Thank you for doing the right thing in the end, but there was no need to bully my son for six years first." She said. James had often thought that there was nothing scarier than Lily when she was angry. She never hit, she never shouted. She never screamed or did anything aggressive but the glare she gave to anyone who had deserved it was worse than all of the hexes and curses she had put on all of the death eaters she had fought all those years ago. Severus looked away from her, clearly he found this glare as bad as James always had.

"I'm sorry Lily." He whispered. Lily rolled her eyes but said nothing. A second before he had died, Severus had told Harry the final part of Dumbledore's plan and she had to watch him. She couldn't decide if she wanted him to do it – as it may be the only way to save the Wizarding World (and she would also be reunited with her only son) – but she didn't want him to die.

His decision, however, mirrored the one that Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Tonks and countless others had made. He chose to die at the hands of Voldemort in order to potentially save the lives of everyone else. He found the stone that could resurrect his parents and brought them back as spirits that only he could see. This, unlike the images he'd seen of them in his fourth year, was actually them. Lily, James, Remus and Sirius all smiled as they saw him, and knew that he could see them. Even better when he could speak to them.

"We're so proud of you." Lily told him for the first time.

"Does it hurt?" He asked them. Sirius shook his head.

"Quicker and easier than falling asleep." He promised.

"Will you stay with me?" It was one of the first times in his life that Harry had allowed himself to be scared, and it would be the last time too.

"Until the very end." James promised.

And they did. They stayed beside him until Voldemort cast his curse at Harry and both fell flat on the floor with a thud.

They all reappeared where they had been before, where Tonks stood, awaiting their return but Severus had left. Lily didn't care. She stood and waited, beside her husband and their friends for her son. But he never appeared. She was taken back to that night on the 31st October 1981 when they had died but their son had somehow survived.

They were taken back to Harry, although he couldn't see them this time, as he rolled from Hagrid's arms and showed that he was alive. They were as surprised as his living friends and supporters who cheered and the battle recommenced.

It was hard to keep track of anyone but Lily, James and Sirius were glued to Harry whilst Remus and Tonks attempted to check on the other members of the Order of the Phoenix. They were there when Tom Riddle finally died as just that, as a human (or as human as someone who had killed hundreds of people and split his soul seven times). And then it was finally over. The world was safe once more and Harry was safe to live his life with Ginny and his friends. They had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna, as well as half adopting Teddy Lupin into their home (although he really lived with Andromeda Tonks). All was well in his life as he lived the one that Lily had always dreamed of for him.

But, of course, everyone must die sometime. Harry died at a very good age of 106 but hugged his parents for the first time as if he was still the eleven year old who had found out the truth about himself and his parents. They hugged him back – even though he had now lived longer than them put together – and Lily cried.

"We love you and we were with you every step of the way." She whispered.

"I know. I felt protected and loved by you both when I needed it most. When I felt lonely, when I felt hated. I always knew you were there and were proud of me and I love you too.

And for the first time in over a hundred years, James and Lily were reunited with their son. He was reunited with his wife a few years later and Lily was glad to finally meet the girl that had made him so happy. Finally, she knew her son and he knew her, and the same was true of James.

 **Hope you enjoyed this one shot. I swear I almost cried writing it at some points I love them all so much. Thank you for reading and leave me a review please (and tell me what you think I should write about next!). For anyone who reads any of my other stories, they will all be updated ASAP – I promise! – Chescaannie xx**


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